Farm gate



-I 1,446,934.v w. F. sCHWlEsow.

FARM GARE. FILED sE'PT. I, 1921.

om. R INVENTOR.

lK www E E :bwl 5 mw BY y pf ATTOR Ys.'

Patented Feb. 2?, 1923. e n

entran stares traan WILLIAM r. scnw'rnsow, or Biron, wrsconsin.v

ramt Garn.

Application filed. September 1, 1921. Serial No. 497,505.

To mit whom it may concern.' p

`it known that L l/VILLIAM li. Scriwmsow, a citizen ofthe United States, and resident of i'ipon, in the county of F ond du Lac and State 'of lVisconsin, have invented cer,- tain new and useful Inilprovements in Farm Gates; and I do vhereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and'exact description thereof. l

My invention relates lto a new and useful improvement in farm gates and more particularly to the mechanism for latching and unlatching the gate and for opening andk closing the same.

rllhe general object of the invention is to provide means for operating the gate aut-of matically upon the approach of a vehicle wit-'hout the necessity of the driver leaving his seat. l f y l/Vith the aboveobject in view the invern tion consists in the details` of construction as setforth hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawing and subsequently claimed. l l

In the drawing y Figure 1 is a perspective view of' a gate constructed according to my invent-ion together with the approaches thereto. v

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified form of one feature of the invention. y

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the platform for operating the gate.

Referring more specifically to the drawing the numeral 1 designates a gate which is hinged as shown at 2 to a gate post 8, the free end of the gate being provided with a spring latch l which cooperates with the des tent 5 to secure the gate in closed position. The upper or free end of 'th-e latch is limited in its movement by a keeper 6. A cable 7 is secured to the latch f1 in such a manner that by pulling on the cable the latch will be released from the detent. lThe cable 7 divides into two branches 8 -and 9 which pass through eyes or the like in the opposite ends of a cross head 10 which is secured to the i end of the gate near its pivotal point. The

branches of the cable pass thence around the post 3 to opposite sides of the gate where they are passed over suitable sheaves or the like, in the posts 11 and 12, the ends of the cables being secured to the outer ends of the respective platforms 13 and 14. These platforms are hinged at their inner ends as shown in Figure 3 to suitable anchors 15 `which are embedded at one side of the road- :When a vehicle approaches the c driver may guide it over the .platform 13 or 14 whereupon the weight of the vehicle will. force the platform downwardly. .The first result of ythis movement of the platform will be to draw thelatch 4 inwardlyand unlock way.

(fate l the `the gate. The tension upon the branch 8 or 9 as the case may be will exert a pull in the direction of the end of the cross head 10 while the other branch of the cable will be slack. This will result in swingmg the gate awayfrom the approaching vehicle to open position. Each of the posts 11 and 12 is provided with alatch16 which will automaticallyengage `the latch f1 when the gate reaches full open `position and lock the same. When the vehicle -has reached the post at the other lside of the gateway the latch 16 may be released to permit the gate to swing shut.v

Any suitablemeans may be provided for unlocking the latch 16.` 1n the drawing I have shown a conventionaly means which` consists of a cable 17 which maybe pulled by the driver or means may be provided for operating the same by .the weight of the vehicle. Each of the cables are provided with a spring portion 18 in order to relieve eX- cessive strain which might be caused by thek weight of the vehicle. When the vehicle leaves the platform the cable which supports the same is released whereupon the other branchof the lcable becomes the one which is under greatest tension and will therefore tend to close the gate after the same hasbeen released by the latch 16. Itk

has been found preferable however to provide additional means for closing the gate. In its preferred form this means consists of a second cross head 19 the ends of which are connected by short cables 20 and 21 to one end of a coil spring 22, the other end of which is secured to the fence as shown in in Figure 1. When the gate is swung open one of the cables 20` or 21 depending upon which way the gate is swung' will become tightly stretched by the spring 22 which will exert a force to close the gate as soon as the vlatter is released. It'wll 'be of course understood that the vweight of the vehicle rand the strength of the springl in the cable operated thereby will be sufficient to overcomel the resistance of the spring 22 when the gate is being opened. j v 3 In the modification shown in Figure 2 the springQZ is replaced by acable 28 which passes over a sheave 24; and has a weight 25 secured to the end thereof.

From the foregoing description it will be seen I have provided a device which is en tirely automatic in its nature whereby the opening and closing of the gate may be accomplished entirely by the weight of the vehicle without any attention from. the driver other than guiding the vehicle in its proper course.

I claim as my invention l. A vdevice of the character described comprising a pair of gate posts, a gate hinged to one of said posts to swing in either direction past thel other post, a spring latch for locking the gate normally in closed position, said latch being secured to the outer stile of the gateand extending upwardly adjacent thereto and tensioned Iso as to be resilientl` held outwardlv in engagement 1 t) (D with afdetent on the adjacent gate post, a cross head on theend of the gate near its pivot, a post on each side of the gate toward which the outer end of the gate swings when opened, a sheave supported on each of 4said last named posts, a hinged platform beneath each sheave and in the path of an approaching vehicle` a pair of' cables secured at oneend to said latch and passing around the endsfofthe cross head and the adj acentgate post and over the sheaves and secured to lthe respective platforms, whereby the weight of a vehicle on the platform will first unlock they latch and then swing` the gate to open position, a spring latch on each of the sheave-supporting posts and enga'geable with the latch on the Vgate to:`

lock the gate when it reaches open position,

and resilient means tensioned by the gate in opening in either direction for returning the same to closed position when released.

2. A device of the character described comprising a pair of gate posts, a gate hinged to one of said posts to swing in either direction past the other post, a spring latch for locking the gate normally in closed position, said latch being secured lto the outerstile o-f the gate and extending upwardly adjacent thereto and Atensioned so as to be resilient-ly held outwardly in engagement with a detent on the adjacent gate post, a cross head on the end of the gate near its pivot, a post on each side of the gate toward which the outer end of the gate swings when opened, a sheave supported on each of said last named posts, a hinged vplatfori'n beneath each sheave and in the path of an approaching vehicle, a pairof cables secured at one end to said` latch and passing around the ends of the cross head and the adjacent gate post and vover the sheaves and secured to the respective platforms, whereby the weight of a vehicle lon the platform will first unlock the latch and then swing the gate to open position, a spring latch on each of the sheave-supporting posts and engageable with the latch, on

WILLIAM F. SCI-IVVIE'SOW. l 

